{"id":3327,"date":"2012-09-17T07:18:56","date_gmt":"2012-09-17T11:18:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/doinglifetogether\/?p=3327"},"modified":"2012-09-17T12:11:34","modified_gmt":"2012-09-17T16:11:34","slug":"is-buying-a-lottery-ticket-gambling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2012\/09\/is-buying-a-lottery-ticket-gambling.html","title":{"rendered":"Is Buying a Lottery Ticket Gambling?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Are you one of many who have said, \u201cWhat\u2019s the harm in buying lottery tickets?\u201d\u00a0Have you made a few wagers on Monday night football?\u00a0Did you help plan Casino night at your kids\u2019 school? Are you constantly hoping you\u2019ll win the lottery in order to end all your financial problems?<\/p>\n

If so, are you \u00a0gambling?<\/p>\n

Yes, according to Rex Rogers and his book,\u00a0Seducing America: Is Gambling a Good Bet?<\/em>\u00a0You may or may not agree but Rogers says<\/p>\n

Rogers says gambling is a problem for a Christian for these reasons:<\/p>\n

* Not justified in the Bible<\/p>\n

* A dependence on luck and chance rather than God\u2019s sovereignty<\/p>\n

* A violation of our stewardship<\/p>\n

* An undermining of our work ethic<\/p>\n

* The result of covetousness<\/p>\n

*\u00a0 A form of theft<\/p>\n

*\u00a0 Potentially addictive<\/p>\n

* Often associated with social and personal vices<\/p>\n

Gambling usually begins as a harmless flirtation, but becomes a problem for many people. In fact, it has become an acceptable and mainstream addiction in American culture. The church has been strangely silent on this issue.<\/p>\n

Gambling addiction has psychological and spiritual components similar to physical addiction and can take hold of a person\u2019s life.\u00a0We know that pathological gambling often begins in late adolescence for men and later in life for women. At first, it may be viewed as entertainment. Over time, a preoccupation with the action, excitement and winning develops. The addiction takes hold and all resources are used to get money to support the habit. Some people ravage their savings, destroy relationships and become preoccupied with gambling activities\u00a0Others engage in illegal activities to keep a steady supply of cash and wind up with significant legal, relationship and moral problems.<\/div>\n

A gambling addiction is a serious and often difficult to stop. Left untreated, a person\u2019s life can spin seriously out of control. Compulsive gamblers lie, deny the seriousness of their problems, and become irritable when trying to quit. Like other addictions, gambling fills an empty place, covers depression, anxiety, guilt or helplessness, and allows someone to escape immediate problems.<\/p>\n

Talk to anyone who lives with a compulsive gambler and he\/she will tell you about the destructive forces at work with this type of addiction. It\u2019s not a coincidence that the state of Ohio prints warnings on their lottery tickets that say, \u201cCompulsive gambling can be treated.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0If you have a gambling addiction, get help.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Do you agree or disagree? My Facebook peeps are weighing in but you can also comment here.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Are you one of many who have said, \u201cWhat\u2019s the harm in buying lottery tickets?\u201d\u00a0Have you made a few wagers on Monday night football?\u00a0Did you help plan Casino night at your kids\u2019 school? Are you constantly hoping you\u2019ll win the lottery in order to end all your financial problems? If so, are you \u00a0gambling? Yes,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[914],"tags":[166,1672,1670,1671,1668,1674,1669,1673],"class_list":["post-3327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family-relationships-2","tag-addiction","tag-betting-night","tag-casino-night","tag-compulsive-gambling","tag-gambling","tag-gambling-addiction","tag-lottery-tickets","tag-luck"],"yoast_head":"\nIs Buying a Lottery Ticket Gambling?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2012\/09\/is-buying-a-lottery-ticket-gambling.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is Buying a Lottery Ticket Gambling?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Are you one of many who have said, \u201cWhat\u2019s the harm in buying lottery tickets?\u201d\u00a0Have you made a few wagers on Monday night football?\u00a0Did you help plan Casino night at your kids\u2019 school? 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Are you constantly hoping you\u2019ll win the lottery in order to end all your financial problems? If so, are you \u00a0gambling? 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